Officially
founded in 1999, Tedious Brief Theatre Company was originally composed
of 18 kids and one adult -- the amazing director Jesse P. Howard. Most
of those students had been working with Jesse for many years before
the Company was founded, and together brought loads of experience,
love, and excitement. Don't believe us? Here's what we
mean:
Experience:
By now, several members have been involved in over 15 productions
during their early acting careers (the age range is 14 to 17)! This
includes plays produced since 1994, when we were teensie elementary
schoolers and Jesse first came to town. It also includes TBTC's last
two hits, the musical versions of Shakespeare's A
Midsummer Night's Dream and Romeo
& Juliet, for which the director turned
composer and wrote a combined total of about 40 original songs! We
have now grown to 27 high schoolers and added choreographer Kirsten
Geier and fight choreographer Quinn Thomsen.
Love:
One of the reasons that TBTC members keep coming back is the amazing
supportiveness of the whole cast. The welcoming atmosphere encourages
us to take risks that step up each show to a whole new level. And
anyone involved will tell you that the friends made during the productions
are some of the best ever.
Excitement:
This ones's harder to explain, but perhaps our process will give you
a sense of it. In just three intense weeks, we not only audition for
roles, learn lines and songs, rehearse scenes, and put on the show,
but also 
take
on all the technical jobs of lighting, sound, set, props and costume
design, stage managing, and even web site making! This would not be
possible without the excitement and vigor we bring to approaching
the task. The end product is something that audiences have always
loved, coming back show after show.
How Did We Get
Our Name?
The short story is, we stole it from Shakespeare:
"A tedious brief scene of Pyramus and
his love Thisbe; very tragical mirth."
-Theseus, A Midsummer Night's Dream
More specifically, we felt that "tedious brief"
described many aspects of the group, and of putting on shows in general.
Of course, it can be interpreted many ways, but in the words of one
TBTC participant:
"With such things to consider as costume meetings,
long song rehearsals, calling various schools, universities, and companies
in search of lockers to use for the set (my personal experience) and
blocking twenty-five people into a party scene, the work for this
play has already proved that it can be tedious -- but we know that
when it is over the program will have seemed much too brief."
